previous
  • Off With Their Heads: Deadheading Perennials
    Off With Their Heads: Deadheading Perennials
  • How to Grow Raspberries
    How to Grow Raspberries
  • Soil Testing is Worth the Effort
    Soil Testing is Worth the Effort
  • The Only Shrubs You Need to Grow
    The Only Shrubs You Need to Grow
  • Friendly Ways to Battle Garden Pests
    Friendly Ways to Battle Garden Pests
  • Make Your Own Hypertufa Container
    Make Your Own Hypertufa Container
  • Big Flowers from Bigleaf Hydrangeas
    Big Flowers from Bigleaf Hydrangeas
  • How to Start a Vegetable Garden
    How to Start a Vegetable Garden
  • 25 Robust Summer Bloomers
    25 Robust Summer Bloomers
  • Free Download: Rose Pruning and Bed Prep
    Free Download: Rose Pruning and Bed Prep
  • Variegated Plants Create Drama
    Variegated Plants Create Drama
  • A gardener's checklist for early summer
    A gardener's checklist for early summer
  • Perfect Edges for Your Beds and Borders
    Perfect Edges for Your Beds and Borders
  • Enchanting Japanese Maples
    Enchanting Japanese Maples
  • 15 Deer-Resistant Plants
    15 Deer-Resistant Plants
  • 10 Perennials Easily Grown from Seed
    10 Perennials Easily Grown from Seed
  • Building a Compost Bin
    Building a Compost Bin
  • Viburnums are Versatile Shrubs
    Viburnums are Versatile Shrubs
  • Lilacs: Time for a Fresh Look
    Lilacs: Time for a Fresh Look
  • Video: Make a Straw-Bale Garden
    Video: Make a Straw-Bale Garden
  • Bold and Beautiful Zinnias
    Bold and Beautiful Zinnias
  • All About Starting Seeds
    All About Starting Seeds
  • Backyard Makeover Game
    Backyard Makeover Game
  • Garden Catalog Collector
    Garden Catalog Collector
  • Find the Perfect Tomato
    Find the Perfect Tomato
next



May: Lily of the Valley

comments (1) May 1st, 2008 in blogs

FineGardening_Editor Fine Gardening Editors, editor
no recommendations
Click the image to enlarge. Photo: Steve Silk
Add CommentAdd Comment
PrintPrint

Botanical name: Convallaria majalis
Common name: Lily of the Valley

If you were born in May, your birth flower is lily of the valley. These sweet-smelling, dainty, shade-loving plants are a true harbinger of spring, and are sold on the streets of France on May Day. They are poisonous but also used in folk medicine (we don't recommend trying folk medicine with poisonous plants at home!).

Lilies of the valley appear in several Christian Bible stories. It is said that lilies of the valley grew from the spot where Mary's tears hit the ground at the foot of the cross.

Some gardeners think this plant gets a little too "weedy," since it has a tendency to spread. Others love it as a shady ground cover. Do you grow lilies of the valley?

See all birth flowers/plants:
January: Carnation, February: Iris, March: Daffodil, April: Daisy, May: Lily of the Valley, June: Rose, July: Delphinium, August: Gladiola, September: Aster, October: Pot Marigold, November: Chrysanthemum, December: Paperwhite

posted in: mother's day, birth flower
Add CommentAdd Comment PrintPrint
Back to List

Comments (1)

rosesjanet writes: When I turned 16 my dad planted Lily of the Valley below my bedroom window. I thought is was sweet at the time but as the years allowed the plants to develop - the heady scent reminded me each May that I was loved by my mom and dad. After moving on to my adult life and living in three houses without Lily of the Valley, I planted some from those my daughter had in her yard and now - once again - I feel very special when they send their shoots through the earth and especially when they ring in the memory of my dad's special gift.

They are a great Mother's Day gift and for anyone born in May. Posted: 4:00 pm on April 18th
You must be logged in to post comments. Click here to login.